26th Meeting of Group of Ministers on COVID-19
On May 17, 20121, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare chaired the 26th meeting of Group of Ministers on COVID-19.
Key Outcomes of the meet
- CoWIN portal is to be made available in Hindi. Also, it will be made available in fourteen regional languages.
- Around seventeen more laboratories will be added to the INSACOG (Indian SARS CoV-2 Genomics Consortium) network. These laboratories are being added to monitor COVID-19 variants. Currently there are ten laboratories in the network.
- The manufacturing of Amphotericin-B is to be increased to treat COVID-19 black fungal infections called Mucormycosis.
Key Highlights
The following were highlighted during the meet:
- The Variants of Concern such as B.1.617 and B.1.1.7 were predominant in the samples collected from Punjab and Chandigarh.
- More RT-PCR mobile testing was deployed and the RAT (Rapid Antigen Tests) were amplified.
Production and allocation of drugs
It was informed at the meet that the manufacturers have been advised to increase the production of drugs. Three pronged strategies were undertaken to solve the issues in the production and allocation of drugs. They were as follows:
- To identify new suppliers and address operative issues faced by suppliers
- Rational distribution of drugs to states and Union Territories. And to monitor the supply chain constantly.
- Enforcement against black marketing was initiated.
COVID-19 Drugs
- The GoI stressed on the procurement and allocation of Tocilizumab, Remdesivir and Amphotericin-B.
- It was notified at the meet that the demand for Favipiravir increased though it was not recommended in COVID-19 medical guidelines.
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Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021